But amidst the palm trees lies so much
more — a biotechnology center of America,
particularly Gainesville.

Last month, the Gainesville Chamber
of Commerce invited me to take a tour of
several biotechnology companies that live
in the college town, as part of a campaign
to bring awareness to all of the biotechnological innovations taking shape in the
area. Many of the companies are represented on the Chamber of Commerce
Board.

The Chamber’s overall goal is to expand
the area’s economic growth and these bio-tech companies can help pave the way.

From Florida State University to Santa
Fe College, I had the pleasure of visiting
them and several companies that manufacture medical implants, utilize 3D printing
technology, and train its citizens to work
in the field.

Among my many stops was The
University of Florida’s Innovation Hub,
an incubator designed to help students
launch startup companies, many of which
are biotechnology-related. The students
are offered mentorship and lab space, and
over the course of a few years, eventually
graduate from the program. Often, these
graduates find work in the Gainesville
area. The Innovation Hub pairs the startup
team with someone who is an expert in the
business field, and after a few years (and
with any luck), a company might be born.

Some of these companies include NeXt-Gen Biologics, MYOLYN, TruVitals Inc.,
and Encephalo Dynamics.

The University of Florida Sid Martin Bio-technology Institute in Progress Park is another “hot spot” for biotechnology startups.

It is considered the “center of biotechnology
activity in the state of Florida,” according
to the Institute. Some companies born at
the Institute include RTI Surgical, AxoGen,
Inc., Sharklet Technologies, and EraGen
Biosciences. While the Innovation Hub
includes non-biotechnology companies, the
Sid Martin Biotechnology Institute is solely
for biotechnology startups.

Beyond university bio-technology related programs, I also got to visit Exactech,
Inc., a manufacturing company that makes
implants for hips, knees, shoulders, and
the surgical instruments needed to implant
them. Some of the tools and implants are
made with 3D printers while others are
created through more traditional machining methods.

Another company, NOVABONE,
creates class III medical devices, which
are “generally the highest risk devices and
are therefore subject to the highest level of

Jan Wittenber, Member of IEEE and Fellow at
the Center for Medical Interoperability

Derek Young, Founder & CEO, i360medical
Ltd.

A Peek Inside Florida’s
Health Tech Corridor

regulatory control. Class III devices must
typically be approved by FDA before they
are marketed. For example, replacement
heart valves are classified as Class III devices,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration. Other Class III devices
include implantable pacemakers and breast
implants.

One product manufactured by NOVABONE is an implant made out of collagen
for scaffold bone growth/wound healing.

The process begins with shards of 45s5

Bio-glass (a ceramic glass with calcium,
silicon, and phosphate) that dissolves and
stimulates bone growth. The substance
also has an antimicrobial property that can
be used for wound healing.

My trip also included a chance to meet
with Erik Sander, the director of the UF
Engineering Innovation Institute who
discussed the ongoing commercial trends
in biotechnology with me over dinner. We
both agreed that the bio-printed 3D organs
market will rise within the next year or
two, as well as the use of home healthcare
devices intended to reduce doctor and
hospital visits.

More in-depth stories about the companies I visited on my trip will be featured in
future issues.

Visiting Gainesville, Fla., made me excited to explore other biotechnology centers
in the United States. I can’t wait to see what
other innovative companies await! MDT

Fun fact: Gatorade wascreated in Gainesville,Fla., as well! It wasmade for the footballplayers at the Universityof Florida, to helpprevent dehydration.